Isil, MH17 to figure prominently at 69th UN General Assembly session

NEW YORK (Bernama) – As the high-profiled Malaysian delegation led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak arrives to address the 69th United Nations (UN) General Assembly session, two issues will invariably, figure prominently in much of the debates.

The two are the atrocities committed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant – Isil) and the downing of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 aircraft in eastern Ukraine on July 17.

The downing of the MH17 aircraft, by default, will also turn attention to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the threat posed by Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. There is outrage felt in the Netherlands and Australia over the downing of the MH17 flight which had a large number of passengers from the two countries, besides Malaysians.

With winter approaching, Anifah told Bernama on Saturday night on the sidelines of a press briefing that it would become increasingly difficult to retrieve the remains of the Malaysian passengers. It was necessary to do this before weather conditions worsen.

“It would be totally unacceptable for the families and loved ones of the victims to experience the unimaginable pain of losing their loved ones, only to learn that the perpetrators might not be held to account, due to our inaction,” he said earlier at the Security Council meeting on Ukraine.